


Spouse Swap

by lavenderfreckles



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, FrUK, M/M, Marriage of Convenience, Nyotalia, Oooooh the rating went up, Surprise gaynessssss, first multichapter work wohoo, i hope ill complete it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-06 11:22:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8748550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderfreckles/pseuds/lavenderfreckles
Summary: Arthur Kirkland likes Francis Bonnefoy but is marrying his sister Marianne.Alice Kirkland likes Marianne Bonnefoy but is marrying Francis.This strange situation may end up working for the best for all four of them.





	1. Chapter 1

Arthur hated these events, they were nothing but talking to boring people he already knew about subjects he'd had enough about, and if he didn't know enough about them he would have to spend his time _learning_ about them, all the while smiling and politely conversing, which could be a lot worse depending on the company and the amount of wine available.

But he had to attend them, they were in his own home after all, and being as close to being a royal as there possibly could in Britain without being part of the royal family, he and his sister Alice were the star attractions of London.

Apparently this time it would be “different”, as his tutor Harold told him. He had said that before, usually when a very successful business deal was sealed, but they had always remained boring soirées.

“And why might that be, Harold?” he had asked, impatiently.

“Just you wait, sir!” Harold had replied, almost showing emotion.

Arthur had sighed and dropped himself dramatically on one of his sofas.

“If you please, sir, this one will really be special, I promise!” Harold said, fully aware of the hate the young man felt for these events, when all he wanted to do was write the millionth draft of that crime novel or play his violin.

Arthur had looked at his tutor, fully aware now that it needed to be done. _Detective Johnson will just have to wait, I suppose_ , he thought, a little sadly, trying to scrap all of the ideas that he'd been getting for another novel about his fictional detective, since he would never be able to write them all down in time.

 

That night, Arthur dressed in one of his tutor's most recent purchases from town for him, actually liking this one for a change. The jacket and trousers were a distinctly dark blue, with a bright white shirt and a black cravat he had been wearing all season. He was wearing the same shoes as the last soirée's too, but he was sure no one would notice.

He stepped out of his room without looking twice in the mirror, since he was sure everything was alright. He instantly met eyes with his sister.

She always looked forward to these events, because it gave her a chance to dress up and be the centre of attention as the hostess. And God, was she dressed up.

She had a dress similar to many he had seen in the past weeks on many women about town, off the shoulders with a massive skirt, in a colour his sister would have described as “Prussian blue”. She had so much jewellery on that she was probably wearing an entire mines work.  
  
She had probably tightened her corset much too tightly, as usual, but he couldn't say anything to her, or she'd go wild.

“Wow, Alice, you look absolutely stunning! Who's the lucky man?” Arthur complimented her, while walking her down the hall close to the stairs.

Alice laughed “Thank you! Francis is back, remember? He could not attend the last few evenings- Arthur stop laughing!” she playfully pushed him. “You haven't even met him, stop laughing!”

“I don't _need_ to meet him, I already know what he will be like!” he pulled his hair back and assumed an air of flamboyant satirical elegance “ _Oui oui, mon ami, bonsoir, I am Francois, je am an idiote, as every Francais in ze 'hole world! I eat frogs and I am just as slimy as zem! Je_ _-_ BLOODY HELL, ALICE”

Alice had punched him in the stomach and was now gleaming at her victory.

“Stop being so against the French! You could learn a thing or two from any of them, you know!”  
  
“Learn what? How to be as slimy as the frogs they eat?” Arthur wheezed, still hurt from the massive punch.  
  
“Oh for heaven's sake, one bad experience with one French man does not equate to all French people being bad people.”  
  
“Mm, well, we'll see about that. Shall we?” he said, offering her his arm. She accepted it.

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the hosts of tonight's event, Lord and Lady Kirkland!” Harold announced.

There was a moment of reverend silence as the brother and sister walked down the marble staircase to reach the room full of guests. As they came near the end of the stairs Arthur recited his now memorised “thank you for being here” speech.

Then the party started again and Alice disappeared into the crowd where, Arthur supposed, she had found that French frog of hers, that fiancé he'd heard so much about but had never met. He had started to think he was as real as Detective Johnson.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically? Francis shows up and starts messing up with Arthur's mind. Enjoy!

“Lord Kirkland, this way, please!” Harold beckoned him.

_Great, some other person I have to meet_ , Arthur internally moaned, despite it only being the first meeting of the evening.

What he was not expecting was a gorgeous blonde woman, dressed so nicely she must have been from the continent, and who held her glass of red wine with such grace. She seemed like the type of girl his sister would have loved to hang out with, draw inspiration from, so to speak.

“Lord Arthur Kirkland, Madame Marianne Bonnefoy, of France” 

_I knew it..._

“Good evening, madame” Arthur said, bowing ever so slightly while kissing her hand. 

_Yes, she smells of extremely expensive powder and perfume._

She curtsied politely.  
  


They had a pleasant conversation about drawing and reading, before she returned to her friends and he to his tutor after entertaining the Italians for a little.  
  


Harold had an expression of hope painted all over his features.

Arthur found it a little odd and unsettling. “What's with that face, Harold?”

“Well sir, do you like her?”

“Marianne? Yes, she was quite charming, I suppose. Very accomplished too. Why?”

“Sir... I don't know how to say this... I think she would be an excellent wife for you-” the educator was interrupted by Arthur spraying all the wine he was drinking onto the floor from his nose in surprise.

The lord coughed a few times. “W-wife? For me? Now where in bloody hell did you get the idea I might need or want one?”

“Sir, if I may, you are without a doubt one of, if not _the most_ wealthy young man in England. All of your possessions must be safe and go to a legitimate heir one day! Keep it in the Kirkland name!”

“I thought I had established my sister and her future kin as legitimate heirs were something to happen to me. What happened to that?”

“She would no longer be a Kirkland then, she'd be a Bonnefoy, so it would all be possibly completely lost. You must think of these things, young master!”

“I shall do that one day Harold, today is not that day. You are dismissed for tonight.” Arthur growled. Harold politely bowed and left the room.

 

Arthur decided he needed to sit down. He grabbed some tissues from the box conveniently placed there and started mopping up the damage to the only suit he actually liked, muttering in annoyance.

“What is wrong, _monsieur_ _?_ Something stressing you out? _”_ someone sat on the same sofa asked him, clearly curious if not as worried as he tried to sound.

“Oh, it's quite alright, thank you. I- I just finished a very weird con-” he had turned to look at the man he was talking to, and was lost for words.

He had such beautiful blond hair, loose and up to his shoulders, his eyes were bright and blue, as if they had a lot of nice things to say about the world they lived in, and his mouth in a neutral positioned appeared to be smiling, as if unconsciously he knew everything was worth smiling for.  
Those eyes were now in a questioning stance, asking Arthur to finish his sentence.

“Con-conversation, yes, that's all it was. Pardon me, I don't think we've met”

“No, no, we have not. But I know you sister, _monsieur,_ I... I am to marry her. My name is Francis, yes, that is what Alice calls me, Francis Bonnefoy.”

Suddenly Arthur felt a fit of rage towards this angel.

“Why yes, I've heard of you, a lot actually. The man who couldn't even wait for a man of the house to come back from a business tour to ask my sister to marry him so he could ask his permission first.” Arthur stood up to walk away but he felt a strong hand keep him still.

“Hold on, Arthur-”

“For god's sake, frog, call me Mr Kirkland.”

Francis felt offended by this. “I did no such thing!”

“Is that so? Well, how come my sister was a maid when I left and engaged when I got back?”

“It was all very sudden, Art-” Arthur glared at him “Mr Kirkland. I was invited to your house while you were gone, with my sister. I sat down with someone who looked like a man of the house who strongly suggested I ask Alice's hand in marriage. You know, for business.”

Arthur stared at him, getting angrier by the second. “It... IT'S NOT EVEN A MARRIAGE FOR LOVE? MY LITTLE SISTER IS IN AN ARRANGED ENGAGE-”

Francis ran over to cover his mouth.

They were so close now Arthur couldn't contain the redness of his cheeks. What it was down to, he wasn't sure.

They stared at each other like that for a long time, and they both had gotten so red they were like two tomatoes who didn't want to let go of each other.

Eventually they did let go, but very gingerly, almost as if they never wanted to.

But they did, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, the gay has begun~  
> If you leave a comment you'll end up on my Nice list!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some cute romantic lesbian action~

_Hm, Arthur and Francis have been in there for a long time... are they hurt?_ Alice wondered, standing outside her brother's study where Francis has entered to get to know Arthur.

“My brother has been in there for a while, what happened?” someone with a prominent French accent said. Of course, anyone who referred to Francis as their sibling would have had a beautiful accent like his.

Alice turned to answer that she was wondering what had happened to her brother too... when she stopped and couldn't help but stare at the beautiful woman beside her.

The colours of her features were exactly like her brother's, the blonde hair tied up in a neat chignon, her shining blue eyes, though her skin was significantly paler. At the same time she looked like someone else entirely and Alice refused to believe this was going to be her sister-in-law.

Alice had always acknowledged on some deep psychological level that she was interested in both men and women, but she'd never mentioned it to anyone or acted upon it. The ancient Greeks could accept this concept somewhat, but Great Britain in the year of our Lord 1852 thought it to be too much, obviously. _And we were the advanced ones, oh yes, definitely._ she constantly muttered to herself.

Anyway, this super, amazingly attractive woman was supposed to be part of her family soon, and Alice didn't know if she'd be able to deal with it.

 

Soon she realised she'd been staring.

“Oh... y-yes, m-my brother is in there too. I'm somewhat worried about him...”

The beautiful woman smiled, then looked at her, almost as long as Alice had stared at her.

“You're Alice then, his fiancée. I'm Marianne, he probably has not mentioned me.” she smiled again, giving the girl an air kiss on each cheek.

“Oh, no, I promise he's spoken of you more than you might think, Marianne. He does really care for you” Alice managed to say, trying not to blush and failing miserably.

The Frenchwoman noticed and smiled even more. She started up a conversation about drawing, for which the young girl was grateful, since she considered herself to be quite good at it and considered it a peaceful hobby.

“I'm sure you have a lot of examples of your stunning art, Alice.” Marianne said, lowering her voice and coming closer.

_Wow, the French sure are friendly_ , Alice thought, panicking that she might not be able to stand this tension and kiss her and ruin everything.

“Y-y-yes... y-yes I d-do. Do y-y-you w-want t-to s-see?”

“I would love to, Alice.”

“W-well, the-there's a lot of the-them in m-my r-room. Shall we?” Alice said, suddenly pretending to have some confidence with the last sentence.

“Of course, Alice.” the way Marianne said her name after every sentence made Alice go wild. Oh, she liked women alright.

Did Marianne like women too? Or was she just being very European?

Alice went red as she guided the woman to her bedroom where she kept the paintings she had promised, mainly because she had gotten hold of her arm like her brother had a few hours ago going down the stairs.

 

“ _C'est magnifique , _Alice!” 

So apparently Marianne appreciated Alice's paintings, very much inspired by mainly Turner and Blake, whom the young Lady appreciated a lot.

“Why, thank you, Marianne. I am quite proud of them, really.” she said, full of pride. It was hard to believe this was the same trembling mess of a half hour ago. She then found one she was particularly proud of and showed it to Marianne.

She took a lot longer judging this one.

“Well, this one could have been so much better!”

This comment made Alice's blood run cold.

She forced out a nervous laugh.

“Excuse me... care to repeat that?” she said, in a tone that would have terrified anyone, including the Queen herself. But not Marianne. She was French, she had the same blood of those who had cut the heads off of their own sovereigns. A little girl upset because her art wasn't good was no formidable threat.

She laughed, with what seemed genuine enjoyment. “I _said_ , little girl, that this painting could have been so much better... had the concept come to a more talented artist.”

Alice cringed. _Little girl? Me?_

She felt like she could have handled the situation better than she did, but the smug look on Marianne's face made her boil with anger and she could not be mature about it.

She angrily grabbed Marianne's (beautiful, she added in her head) dress by the dark lace hem and stared into her (absolutely stunning) eyes, and they angrily stood like that for a few minutes.

That was when Arthur and Francis walked in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll continue this story because I love it so much. Any suggestions or comments?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of gay feelings~

A few minutes earlier

Arthur and Francis separated from that very embarrassing closeness.

Arthur coughed a few times and straightened his suit, still red. Francis was still flustered too, he hadn't intended to get so close to this at first despicable Brit. He was so attractive though. Some would have argued his eyebrows were too thick, he supposed, but they just made his green eyes stand out more. He was so beautiful, especially all blushing like he was.

Arthur had never felt more humiliated. This man had made him feel all funny, and that was not good at all. The funnier Francis made him feel, the more he decided he hated him.

The only way he could possibly get revenge on this petty angel was asking his sister to marry him. Obviously mentioning he'd been forced into it only after the wedding, because he didn't know how this woman's brain worked and he was terrified of French people.

“Right, well, I'll be on my way then.” Arthur commented, moving further away.

“On your way? Where to, Arthur?” Francis said, putting emphasis on the name, as if it was the most beautiful sound on the planet.

Arthur's ears went red and he coughed a little.

“To propose to your sister, actually.” he straightened himself, with much more confidence than before.

Something inside Francis fell apart, but he decided not to show it. This feeling wasn't normal, not for someone who was going to be part of his family anyway.

“ _V-vraiment_ _?_ Aren't you going to ask me for permission?”

“I was sure you wouldn't mind. After all, isn't this how you do things _there_?” Arthur sneered, putting emphasis on the last word.

Francis was really annoyed now.

“Look, you tea-sucking freak, do not bring France into this! I've already told you my side of the story! Who in god's name was the man I spoke to anyway?”

“If I'm right, and I do believe I am, you probably spoke to my tutor, Harold. He seems to want to the both of us married to the both of you.”

Francis saw Arthur grow a little sad and the emotional side was already there to make him hug him. Arthur was very surprised but he didn't tell him to stop, mainly because he didn't want him to.

“Is that why you're going to propose to my sister? Are you feeling forced to?” the Frenchman asked him.

“Well, yes, I suppose so...” he murmured into Francis's shoulder. Then he mumbled something along the lines of “marrying her is the closest thing to marrying you anyway so I might as well...”

“What was that, Arthur?” Francis whispered in his ear.

Arthur went bright red and let go of the embrace and yelled “NOTHING YOU FROG NOW EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO PROPOSE TO YOUR SISTER”. Then he left the room.

Francis chuckled, looked at his shoes and murmured “I heard that, you know...”

He then proceeded to catch up with Arthur, which didn't prove to be difficult at all because the Spanish ambassador had trapped him in a fun, giggly conversation.

 

When that was over the two of them walked in silence up the stairs to find the two sisters, as that's where they'd heard the two of them were, towards Alice's room, which is where Arthur suspected them to be.

Francis started to genuinely compliment the house, since he was enjoying the upstairs more than the downstairs, with all of its personal touches the dining room didn't have, which started a pleasant discussion about the best kind of marble for a house.

When they arrived in front of Alice's door they awkwardly chuckled.

“Well, this was pleasant, Francis.” Arthur commented.

“Y-you're right, y-yes it was.” Francis agreed, trying to ignore that Arthur had just said his name for the first time. And god, it sounded divine said by him.

“Alright, then, I guess we'd better go in.”

Sure, maybe he should have knocked, but this was bad. Very bad.

Alice had Marianne by the top hem of her expensive dress, looking into her eyes angrily, huffing and puffing like a bull, while Marianne returned the gaze with a hand firmly grasping Alice's dress' back. The room was filled with the young woman's paintings which she'd clearly put up for show.

“Alice! Marianne!” the two men yelled at the same time, both equally shocked for almost equal motives.

The two women backed away, still glaring at each other, filled to the brim with disgust.

In bits and pieces, and with a lot of bribes consisting of very specific cakes or more dresses, Alice and Marianne shed a very confused light on the reason they hated the other's guts, and the two men didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

When the air had cooled, Arthur plucked up the courage to ask Marianne for a private moment. She agreed profusely, and together they went to the drawing room.

“M-Marianne, I... I don't really know how to start...” Arthur confessed, but his expression had given that away a long time before.

She chuckled, enjoying it, but still trying to be helpful.

“I... um... I really admire you, Marianne... as a woman, as a person in general... I am in awe at your knowledge and your style in... well, everything...”

Now she understood where this was going and straightened up, fixing the top of her dress and flattening the skirt.

What Arthur said next, although he wasn't proud of it, was not exactly directed at her. “I adore your every feature, they light up the room, and when we were not near you were all I thought about tonight. I have only known you for a short time but I know that you would make an excellent companion, not only for conversation but for life. So, in short,” He sighed and went down on one knee “Marianne Bonnefoy, would you do me the honour of marrying me?”

There was silence for some seconds, a gasp and then a “Yes, Arthur Kirkland, I will!”

Arthur sighed in relief and kissed his fiancée's hand, then looked into her eyes. _Yes, they are quite like Francis's. I can live with this._

Francis had heard everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the longest chapter wow. there's so much going on I'm so excited! Leave a comment?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A castle load of angst yay~

Francis had often heard the term “broken heart”, and he'd always thought he'd suffered from it that one time his extremely close friend Joan left France out of nowhere, never to be seen again.

But no, this was somehow far greater. He had just heard the only person he'd ever felt something real for propose to his sister, and his sister had accepted. He had lost Arthur forever.

And it wasn't even love, at least not on Arthur's side. He'd heard it from his very mouth not long before, in a moment of complete, adoring weakness on both parts.

He decided to go back to his fiancée Alice, he supposed that was something a normal man with such a partner would do.

“Hello?” he knocked on Alice's door and peaked inside the room.

“Oh, hello Francis.” she put on a smile, obviously not a genuine one. But she was trying. “So, uh, where did Arthur and Marianne head off to?”

Francis gulped silently, then he told her of the engagement.

It was Alice's turn to fall apart. _Is... Is this because I told her I hate her?? Because it's not true it's ANYTHING BUT TRUE DOES THE UNIVERSE HATE ME IS THAT WHAT HAPPENED I JUST TURNED THE UNIVERSE AGAINST ME I HAVE-_

“Alice? Alice? Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost.”

“Uh...? Yes, yes, I suppose so... I just can't believe my brother is engaged too... it's so strange... and to your sister!” she lied.

“ _Oui_ , it is very strange.” Francis commented, sitting on the stuffed stool opposite the bed Alice was sat on.

According to the rules set by Harold they were forbidden to sit on the same bed alone, but honestly it was the easiest thing to do for both of them, as they weren't _actually_ attracted to each other, but rather to the lifestyle that came with marrying the other. Neither was particularly offended by this, as they both took extreme pride in how they lived and that someone appreciated it enough to want to marry them for it.

Arthur and Marianne walked in then, with Marianne holding onto her fiancé's arm like any recently engaged woman would, but her eyes were only for Alice. Alice decided to look at her brother instead of dying from embarrassment at Marianne's gaze.

“So, I uh, heard it from Francis. Congratulations on your engagement, Arthur and Marianne!” Alice cheered, even though she'd have rather been buried alive than pronounce those words.

Arthur wanted to die as he looked at Francis. Francis looked as if he'd been betrayed, and kept staring at the Brit to make him feel as uncomfortable as he was hurt. And oh, was it working.

Marianne was still looking at Alice. She didn't look as forsaken as Francis, just sad, as if she'd missed her chance at something, and was eyeing her brother, obviously trying to avoid her own gaze for unknown reasons. Did she not approve of this union? Did she feel the same romantic attachment that Marianne felt and couldn't stand never being with her? Marianne wasn't sure which one she'd have been able to stand more.

Basically, this was a very awkward moment for all four of them.

“Right, well, let's go downstairs, shall we? I'm sure the guests will love to hear of this engagement!” Alice suggested, and everyone gladly agreed.

They walked down the corridor and onto the stairs in complete awkward silence.

When they got to the living room there were still many people left, dancing and conversing. _I'm glad they were able to get along, at least,_ Arthur thought.

Then he cleared his throat, asking for everyone's attention. After a long, speech about weddings and “the future of Great Britain”, he announced his engagement to Marianne. Everyone applauded, delighted for what they thought was a great match. Francis and Alice applauded too, only less delighted for what they knew was an arranged match from Hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! I'm sorry for the short chapter but I want to update this story as much as I can, maybe I'll plan a schedule for it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Leave a comment and make me v happy pretty pleeease?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lots of gay stuff happens, so yeah~

For about a week, since the Bonnefoys were guests they stayed at the Kirkland Manor, there was the same routine everyday; that day was no different, after breakfast the mood was still heavy so everyone retired to different rooms: Arthur to his study, Alice to the drawing room, Marianne in the garden and Francis to the tea room.

They tried enjoying their hobbies, conversation or general alone time but their thoughts filled with their crushes distracted them. 

Arthur had ended up writing 'Arthur Bonnefoy' and 'Francis Kirkland' on his journal at least 20 times each, they sounded too nice not to try. 

Alice was already using her watercolours when she realised the “mysterious muse” for this new painting was Marianne, what she'd look like on a normal day getting ready by the dressing table, her chignon down and her gorgeous blonde hair reaching her waist; she decided to finish it. 

As Marianne walked through the greenhouse that served as a hall of sorts to the garden all the green reminded her of Alice's soft eyes and the pink roses of her lips, and the lotuses in the artificial lake reminded her of Alice's beautiful paintings. 

Francis was conversing with some guests but he ended up discussing different kinds of tea and someone convinced him to go play cricket... and he didn't really mind, because those were things Arthur liked discussing, and whatever Arthur liked was automatically the best.

Alice finished her painting after roughly three hours looking quite satisfied with it, even though she knew perfectly well that even the best artist could never capture Marianne's true beauty. She decided to look out of the window that gave into the garden like she did whenever she was in the drawing room. Marianne was there, looking as beautiful as always and superior to everything and everyone in her path. She felt a little bit creepy looking at her from afar when she had no idea, but all of her common sense was usually gone wherever Marianne was concerned.  
  
At some point her brain acknowledged that Marianne was looking her way.  
  
She was looking at the window.  
  
 _Bloody hell, she's looking at me.  
  
_ Alice started freaking out. But... was she smiling? Yes, that was what it looked like. Alice hid behind the pillar near the window in an attempt to calm her heartbeat. To no avail.  
When she felt somewhat normal she decided to look again. Marianne was gone.  
  
Alice sighed. Was it relief? Disappointment? She wasn't sure.  
 _I'll go back to my room and rest I suppose. Too many thoughts._  
Just as she was about to walk out Marianne came in.  
  
“I haven't seen this room yet. It's nice.” she commented.  
  
“ _Nice?_ Are you being serious?” Alice was now truly offended, this was her favourite room in the house and all the woman of her dreams had to say about it was “it's nice”? _Why that little-  
_  
“Yes I was serious. It's nice. Delicate, relaxing. Probably the best room in the house” Marianne continued, and Alice swore she felt her heart rate double.  
  
“O-oh, r-right... um, alright... I, uh...” she looked down, her voice cracked from too many mixed feelings and trailed off. She felt being lightly caught by the chin and when she looked up, not that she was expecting anyone else, she saw Marianne's face beautifully up close.  
  
 _My god, you're absolutely stunning,_ she thought, even though she was dying of embarrassment.  
  
Then, as if she had heard her thoughts, Marianne leaned forward, going down as if about to reach Alice's lips with her own, but she didn't. They were so close that Alice was losing her mind so she closed the gap so that they were finally kissing. And god, it felt nice. Suddenly that word had given itself a new meaning for Alice. Despite the clumsiness of it, there was a clear distinction between Marianne who had probably done this before and Alice who had never thought this kind of affection could be possible outside of a marriage. They stopped to breathe for a moment and lightly touched foreheads. Whatever tension from the short lived argument that was left went away as they giggled almost uncontrollably, and they went for another kiss, much longer and more intense than the first.  
  
Then Alice remembered something.  
“Marianne... uh, window...” she whimpered through the kiss.  
“Oh... right...” she responded, not really wanting this to stop.  
  
Alice rushed to close the large green curtains which made the room almost completely dark, but lighting the candles made it better, it even gave the room a much more romantic atmosphere.  
  
The two women sat on the green silk sofa in the room. That was when Marianne noticed the painting of herself which was still on the easel.   
  
“Nice use of oils, Miss Kirkland.” she smirked.  
Alice went bright red.  
“No no no no, it's... um...” Marianne gave her a questioning stare. She sighed. “it's uh, actually watercolours. It's what I work best with.”  
  
Marianne smiled and gave a peck to Alice's nose. “I think it's beautiful.” and then she kissed her again, more passionately this time. Alice started responding but Marianne remained in charge, which Alice liked so much more.  
  
Marianne's hands went from Alice's cheek to her shoulders, then travelled down to her waist. All the while Alice kept thinking _“can we do this? Are girls allowed to do this? Do I even care?”_. As she got into this snogging session and stopped thinking so much-  
  
“Miss? May I come in?” Harold's voice came from the other side of the door.  
  
“Bloody hell.” Alice murmured, trying to fix herself. “Just a minute, Harold!” she yelled.  
  
“How do I look?” she asked Marianne, who too was trying to adjust her hair where Alice's hands had just been.  
  
She giggled “You look like you just snogged someone.”  
  
Alice gave an annoyed fake laugh and went to open the door.  
  
“Hello, Harold, how ARE you? I believe we haven't REALLY spoken since my birthday!” she exclaimed, obviously super nervous.  
  
“I'm... not bad, miss, thank you for your concern. There is a letter from Ms Monica Beilschmidt for you, ma'am.” and he handed over a square envelope.  
  
“Ah, yes, thank you, um, Harold. Um, anything else?”  
  
“No, ma'am.” he bowed and walked away.  
  
She locked the door and sighed in relief.  
  
“It took you long enough!” Marianne sarcastically commented. “Come here...”  
  
They started kissing again, and the letter from Monica Beilschmidt was forgotten.  
As they took what was meant to be a short break Marianne laughed nervously.  
  
“Are you alright? Am I doing something wrong?” Alice started to panic.  
  
“Non, ma cherie, you are doing everything just right. It's... well... really stupid but, I'm kind of... hungry...”  
  
This time it was Alice kissing her nose.  
  
“You are adorable! Come, let's find you some food!”  
They linked arms and went down the corridor. If only Alice hadn't made that one stupid sneaky comment about English beef being better than any French meat they wouldn't have started arguing.  
  
That's how Francis saw them, bickering over something stupid.  
  
He groaned. _Well isn't this the perfect family, I have a crush on my brother in law and the future sisters in law hate each other's guts_.  
  
The company he had been with for three hours had left, so he decided to look for Arthur to see if he hated him; and if he did to try and fix it.  
He was not in the garden, not in the dining room, not in the drawing room... maybe his study? He passed by it and decided to knock.  
  
“Come in” he heard Arthur from inside.  
  
Francis was already blushing slightly when he walked inside the study, but seeing Arthur so busy made him look even cuter than usual.  
  
“It's me.” Francis announced shyly.  
  
“Why, yes it is. Hello Francis.” he had finally looked up from his desk. There was no sign of hatred or annoyance in his gorgeous green eyes, just hope and gladness.  
“Did you need something?”  
  
“ _Non_ , I'm alright.”  
  
Arthur sat, a little awkwardly. “Well then...” and he returned to his work, looking disappointed.  
  
“Actually,” Francis started, which made Arthur bolt up right in his chair. “Do you hate me, Arthur?”  
  
The offended look on his face made Francis regret asking that.  
  
“N-now look here you... you... insolent, uh... pathetic... um...”  
  
Francis was the one feeling offended now.  
  
Arthur breathed.   
“I, um, uh... I realise I may not sound like it but I do NOT hate you. In fact, I... have never been further from hating someone who isn't my sister in my whole sheltered, pathetic life.”  
  
Francis genuinely smiled for the first time in a whole week.  
  
Arthur stood up. “You're my sister's fiancé and, really, all I want to do is marry you, cuddle and kiss you, and that's not exactly normal. But you know what? I don't actually care, because I'm here, telling you all this for some reason and you are probably feeling uncomfortable and I'm just babbling like an idi-”  
  
Francis rushed towards Arthur giggling. “Just shut up and kiss me you idiot.”  
  
He barely had the time to say “Alright” and the Frenchman was already kissing him. Arthur held Francis by the waist and Francis had one hand in Arthur's hair and the other on his cheek. They felt like they were the only people in the world, and they were in sync with the rest of the uninhabited universe, as if everything in their entire lives had led up to this moment and nothing could say anything to stop it.   
They didn't take significant breaks for air so they were both red and lacking breath but for all the good reasons. At some point Arthur's hands found their way underneath Francis' shirt and he gasped lightly at the nice feeling of cold fingers against his warm back. They continued like this for ten minutes at least, and even though they stopped they didn't really want to, so they spent a half hour cuddling in the plump sofa near the desk, whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears.  
  
Eventually they let go. Francis kissed Arthur's hand, making him melt.  
“Let's, uh, do this more often, __oui? ”  
  
Arthur was only able to enthusiastically nod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad this is here! I've been working on it since I published the last chapter and I wanted to make it worth a month's wait. I hope you enjoyed it! Leave a comment and give me something nice to wake up to?


	7. Chapter 7

Arthur and Francis started meeting in secret more often. They felt so happy in each other's arms, when the other wasn't being an idiot obviously, and kissing felt more natural than breathing. During the day they often felt guilty that they couldn't be happy with their partners like every other normal person, but one look at each other and all that faded away.  
  
Two months after the first time it happened they met once again, and there was kissing, much more than usual. They were getting warmer by the second and the layers of clothes soon became nuisances and were clumsily off.  
  
While they stared at each other in their briefs Francis gently caressed Arthur's cheek. Arthur let him, gently cupping the hand on his cheek and giving him a tender smile. The kissing resumed, more passionate this time. Francis guided Arthur's head to the pillow, then moved his lips to Arthur's cheek and his jaw line. When he reached one particular spot on his neck, Arthur started gasping and whimpering almost pathetically, so Francis continued kissing and sucking that spot over and over again, which provided the desired result: Arthur was a blushing mess. He was so beautiful, Francis thought, and he couldn't resist stopping and placing a chaste kiss on the lips.  
  
Arthur loved that, but he used it to recover and reverse the positions, seamlessly flipping a shocked Francis so that he was the one on the pillow. He went straight to the neck, hoping it would provide the same result it had on him. It did so and more. Francis was losing it more than Arthur had, with a bright red face and everything that could standing up. Arthur was very proud of himself, but this vision had made his crotch feel a little heavy. _My god, you're so beautiful_ , he thought while smiling.  
  
“No please, don't let us interrupt this moment.” Marianne commented amused, followed by Alice's delicate laugh.  
  
Both men froze, now red in the face for a rather different reason.  
  
“H-how... how long have you been there, Alice?” Arthur trembled, not believing the situation.  
  
“Not long.” she giggled.  
  
Arthur stood up and went to Marianne, his fiancée and Francis' sister. “I... I'm so sorry Marianne, I-”  
  
“I can stop feeling guilty about kissing your sister then?”  
  
Arthur and Francis gave each other a confused look, and Alice could not stop laughing.  
  
Francis spoke. “But... but you hate each other... how...?”  
  
“You two didn't seem so friendly either, so we're not sure about your definition of hate” Marianne pointed out.  
  
They were all silent for a few minutes.  
  
“What should we do then?” Francis muttered. “We can't call off both weddings...”  
  
“Yes, quite so. People would start to talk.” Arthur sighed, leaning into Francis.  
  
“We would all be in so much trouble.” Marianne added softly, holding onto Alice.  
  
There was more silence.  
  
“Suppose we... didn't call off the weddings?” Alice piped up shyly.  
  
The others replied only with a bemused expression.  
  
“I don't suppose it's too far off, but what if we got married anyway? Each to their official partner of course, but we could conduct very close lives and no one would think anything of it, as we would be a family!” she explained.  
  
The other three were still confused, but they also looked interested in this plan.  
  
“That's a better idea than any of us could think of, Alice,” Arthur said “but the thing most people are expecting from these marriages are some heirs. And let's face it, making one would be rather hard...” he added, blushing slightly"  
  
“I think we would not be the ones most affected by the pregnancy, Arthur, stop sounding so selfish.”  
  
“I beg your pardon, I'm not-”  
  
“Ladies, would you be willing to have a child? It's a big thing.”  
  
The two women looked at each other, then down at their bellies nostalgically touching them, smiling a little.  
  
“It would be nice, I suppose.” Alice smiled.  
  
“Yes, being a mother would be the greatest honour.” Marianne agreed, grinning.  
  
“Francis,” Marianne turned to her fiancé “would you try and make a child with me were we married? If not for me, would you for Arthur?”  
  
Francis looked at him and smiled. “Anything for Arthur.”  
  
“Brother? Would you do it for Francis?”  
  
“You cruel woman” Arthur joked, not daring to look up. “Of course I would.”  
  
“Hey, I'm not that bad!” Marianne protested.  
  
They all laughed. The air had finally gotten lighter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this very short chapter! I hope you'll all stick around to see what happens! leave a comment to make my day?

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this, let me know if you liked it and want me to continue! Comments are greatly appreciated!


End file.
